Golly, another month has passed

So it's a month to the day since my last post which wasn't intentional.  I've been pootling along, getting back into my knitting, working some days, not doing much useful on the others and absolutely longing to go on our holiday in another month and a bit.

I don't think I have EVER been as excited about a holiday before - even as a child - and it's not as if we are going anywhere amazingly exotic, but our week spent in a cottage by the beach on a remote Scottish island promises to be fabulous - I just hope I won't get over-excited, like I did as a child, and end up disappointed by the reality.

I've been going through phases of thinking about it about 15 times a day for a week, and then letting it subside so it's not the main thing on my mind - which is a good ploy when I'm at work obviously!

I've even been searching for the perfect socks to knit while we're away and because I am a sad individual I want the patterns to have some relevance to where we are going so I have searched on Ravelry for Scottish socks, island socks, seaside socks, beach socks, wave socks etc and have even enlisted friends from knit group in the search too.

I've finally come up with 2 possible candidates - these resized to fit me in this gorgeous skein of wool (dyed by Barbara at Ring-a-Rosie)

and these to be knit in some maybe-being-dyed-at-this-very-moment-heather-colour-sock-yarn (again by Barbara)  if I can find out how to buy the pattern (the webpages aren't working and the company haven't replied to my email)

One of the reasons I'm so excited about this holiday is because I am planning a holiday from my diet too.  I've lost 1 1/2 stones in the last 13 weeks but it has been hard work and I am missing eating naughty things.  I'm unreasonably excited about the fact that I plan to eat bread and homemade jam (see above) for breakfast and bread and cheese for lunch - it makes me feel quite giddy!

I think I'll be making a potato-hedgehog-calendar with the children to help count down the days once they have broken up from school - I need to get them as hyped up as me!

But here are some calming knitting pictures to show you what I have been doing

A PAIR of No-purl Monkeys

and my current love, 

Candlepower socks - a totally gorgeous pattern (that could have been a contender for my holiday knit as I plan to have plenty of candle-lit evenings in our little cottage - although I'm not sure I could knit this pattern by candle-light)

And Dot kindly unravelled my nearly finished Cherry Swirl sock this afternoon,  so I can knit the partner to this Tadpole in Quinn's lovely hand-dyed wool.

But now I must dash as we are going to deliver Granny Biscuit's birthday presents - a necklace made by me, cheese scones made by Daisy, a strawberry and cream filled Victoria sponge made by Dot, marmalade just made this afternoon (from a cheat tin of Mamade), and cards by the children.  Then Dot and I are going to go and see Harry Potter - woohooo!